Corinthians win first leg of Copa final after peace deal (Reuters)

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Corinthians beat Sport Recife 3-1 at home in the first leg of the Copa Brasil final on Wednesday after the two teams had earlier agreed to try to avoid any skulduggery off the field.

The meeting between directors of the two clubs followed complaints that visiting teams to Recife in previous rounds had been victims of underhand tactics.

Palmeiras said several of their players suffered stomach upsets in the team hotel and that a home-made bomb was thrown at their bus when it became stuck in traffic outside the stadium.

They also complained that Sport supporters let off firecrackers in front of their hotel during the night.

Internacional and Vasco da Gama, also knocked out by Sport on their way to the final, made similar complaints about firecrackers in Recife.

Sport's players, however, said they were woken by fireworks near their hotel in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.

On the field, second division Corinthians scored twice in a five-minute spell during the first half to take control at the Morumbi.

Dentinho pounced on a rebound to score in the 18th minute and German Herrera added another with a clinical finish that wrong-footed Sport goalkeeper Magrao.

Beto Acosta added a third in the 76th minute before Carlinhos Bala snatched a precious away goal for Sport in injury-time.

(Reporting by Brian Homewood; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Source

Related Posts by Categories